You may see a lot more dogs on the street today wearing harnesses rather than having their leashes attached to collars. Are harnesses safer for dogs than collars? Should you abandon your dog’s traditional collar altogether?
The fact is, your dog should have both a collar and a harness for the most effective training. The harness is the appropriate place for attaching your leash – it keeps your dog securely connected to you while eliminating strain on their neck. Harnesses are hard for dogs to slip out of, and they increase the walker’s control over where the dog moves.
Whole Dog Journal believes collars are a great way to keep licenses and other identification tags on dogs – not necessarily for attaching a leash. For walking, we prefer a well-fitting harness.
There are many types of collars AND harnesses on the market, and some serve specific purposes. The front-clip harness, for example, is a useful tool for a dog who pulls on the leash during walks. Head halters can be helpful for helping control a dog who pulls hard and is being handled by a physically frail or small person, but many dogs find them highly aversive. In this case, a consultation with an experienced, positive-reinforcement-based trainer would be advisable.
Both dog collars and harnesses should always be taken off during any play – whether with other dogs, or roughhousing in the backyard. Collars are known to get caught on things, and could seriously hurt your dog. Harnesses, too, should be taken off in play. They may not strangle your dog, but they can still catch on objects or entangle your dog’s playmate.
Comparing Harnesses vs Collars
Pros
Cons
Dog Collars
Collars are a comfortable and secure way to keep ID tags and licenses on the dog at all times.
Some dogs may become experts at ducking out of their collars; broad-necked or small-headed dogs have a higher risk of escape.
Most dogs do not seem to notice wearing a simple flat-buckle collar (WDJ recommends fitting collars with room for 2 fingers between), whether on-leash or off.
Collars can be hard to fit properly to super tiny dogs.
Collars come in a huge variety of types and materials; some kinds of dog collars serve specific needs, like for duckers or more safety.
Collars are known to cause thyroid and/or trachea damage to dogs who pull
Some collars detach under generalized pressure, eliminating the risk of suffocation in an accident.
It is possible for collars to get caught on objects during play or in a dog fight, and may injure or suffocate the dog wearing it; collars are also known to get caught in the jaws of other dogs during rough play.
Dog Harnesses
Harnesses create less pull-stress on both the dog and human during leashed walks.
Harnesses should still always be removed while the dog is inside, or playing with other dogs.
Front-clip harnesses have shown to be most effective when training dogs not to pull on their leashes.
Harnesses can chafe skin around a dogs’ “elbows” if worn excessively.
Dog harnesses tend to come in a greater variety of sizes than collars; there may be better options for extra small or extra large dogs.
Often harnesses are not adjusted to fit properly; if not fitted correctly, harnesses may cause the dog discomfort.
In the event of a dog’s harness getting caught on something, the dog is safe from hanging.
A harness that is improperly fitted may actually inhibit movement and alter the dog’s natural gait.
What are the 5 things you’ll need to make your positive training plan fun and easy for your dog?
You don’t need to spend a lot of money on dog training supplies to be prepared to train your dog effectively. For most dogs, a well-fitted harness, comfortable flat-buckle collar, sturdy leash, and some tasty treats are all you will need to teach your dog to love training time! When dogs love their training, they learn behaviors quickly, and the best trainers never over-complicate things.
Save your cash for high-quality training treats and don’t bother with fancy dog training equipment. Stick with Whole Dog Journal‘s 5 positive dog training gear essentials and both you and your dog will have a safe and happy learning experience!
TRAINING A DOG: WHAT YOU’LL NEED
1. A Nylon, Leather or Heavy Cotton Leash
When your dog has a positive association with his leash, it makes going out for walks or getting in the car a lot easier. Your dog might even let you know when it’s time to go out by grabbing his leash and bringing it to you! You will want a leash made of sturdy cotton, nylon or leather that is between 4-6 feet in length. Build your dog’s positive feelings toward his leash by feeding lots of training treats whenever you clip it to his harness. If your dog is known to chew the leash, treats are also useful for redirecting his attention (and mouth) away from it.
Even if you are fortunate enough to have a well-fenced or otherwise secure property where your dog can roam off-leash, you will want to consider leash training. Vet visits, the pet supply store – almost every public space will require your dog to be leashed. A dog who isn’t used to walking on a leash can make life quite difficult for their guardian, by being reactive when leashed or dragging their walker.
2. A Flat-Buckle or Breakaway Dog Collar
Collars are not the primary point of attachment for your leash. Collars are invaluable for carrying IDs, proof of vaccinations, and other licenses a dog might need if lost, but Whole Dog Journal holds the belief that attaching a leash directly to a dog’s neck collar must be potentially harmful. A dog with perfect leash etiquette – who never strains, drags, or ducks out of their collar – is the exception to this rule. But even so, a harness is almost always the better choice for attaching your dog’s leash.
Collars should be loose-fitting around a dog’s neck. You should be able to fit approximately 2 of your fingers between the collar and your dog’s skin; any tighter, and your dog may develop strain or chafing over prolonged wear. A collar that is loose enough for your dog’s comfort is simply not secure enough to be the main mechanism for controlling or restraining them on walks.
Since your dog will wear their collar more than any other gear, it is important that your dog is always comfortable in it. That said, dogs should not wear their collars ALL the time. Yes, there are different kinds of dog collars designed for safety, etc., but no collar eliminates every risk. To know more, read Nancy Kern’s “When Dog Collars Become Deadly.”
Harnesses should always be taken off in the house or during playtime with other dogs, however. Though there is no suffocation risk with harnesses, they can still get stuck on objects as dogs play.
Excessive wear, or an improperly fitted harness, can cause chafing around dogs’ “elbows”. There are even some reports of dogs developing conformation or gait issues from wearing a harness. Despite this debate, harnesses are still better for restraining your dog than leashes. As mentioned, harnesses present no risk of damage to dogs’ necks and are generally a more effective training tool for dogs who pull the leash.
4. A Clicker!
The decision to use a training clicker as a reinforcer when teaching your dog is entirely up to you, but developing your dog’s positive association with one can make training other behaviors a lot easier. Clickers for dog training are cheap and available at any pet supply store or online. If you don’t want to wait to obtain one, use any household object that you can use in one hand and which makes a distinct clicking noise. A loud pen or a baby toy could work; just keep in mind that clickers designed for dog training make a very sharp, recognizable sound which dogs can hear and identify easily. You want to find an object like that.
5. Delicious Dog Treats
The most important training tool of all: valuable dog treats. Treats are how you motivate a dog to do training exercises with you, and how you let them know they’re doing a good job. Choose a snack that is low-calorie, high-reward. A strong positive training program requires a lot of treats, so it is important to find a food that won’t cost you a fortune, isn’t a bother to carry around with you, your dog is highly interested in, and which won’t make your dog gain weight.
Whole Dog Journal will always recommend boiled chicken as a training treat, but we also encourage trainers to try using veggies. You may be dealing with a dog who lives for vegetables, in which case weight gain will be of no concern.
Here are 4 Training Tools Whole Dog Journal never recommends:
It’s simply astonishing how fast puppies grow. Three weeks ago I wrote a post about the then-four-week-old puppies I’m fostering. Three weeks ago, they were just starting to show little bits of grown-up dog behavior: adorable little growls and barks, playing with each other, and running toward me when I call them for a meal or to go outside (or come inside).
Today, the seven Treeing Walker Coonhound puppies are seven weeks old and just the most amazing, perfectly formed little dogs. They (unfortunately) remember things they learned days ago – like how exactly they got through the barriers I erected in the kitchen to keep them out of the recycling bin, where there are crushed aluminum cans and plastic bottles just waiting to be strewn about the kitchen (so, for a while, the recycling bin will have to be relocated to a table top). Fortunately, they also remember good things, like how they can get attention and petting if they sit in front of me, rather than jumping up or biting my bare ankles (ouch!).
Housetraining is going super well, too. I keep them in a large kennel that’s on my back porch, with a tarp under a thick bed of wood shavings. They have an enormous crate, covered with cardboard and then blankets that are holding in the warmth from an electric heating pad (the hard-plastic kind made for dogs; it only heats up to dog body’s temperatures, and turns off when there is no weight on it). When I awaken them in the morning, I open the door to their pen and rush down the porch stairs into the back yard. Just 10 days ago they couldn’t “do” stairs. Now they tumble down in a group and they all immediately halt in the dirt and go pee! Yay, puppies! Cheers and petting all around. Then we race back up the stairs, and I open the back door and let them into the kitchen. They run around and play (and try to bite my ankles, and pull on my pants legs) as I prepare their breakfast. Immediately after breakfast, we all race outside again, back down the stairs into the backyard, and now it’s poop time! It’s all routine, and hardly any more indiscriminate pottying in the kitchen.
I’m letting them into the rest of the house now, but only in ones and twos – not the whole herd. That’s tooooo much. They go in too many different directions and I don’t have the whole house puppy-proofed. Why is it that puppies this age have such a strong instinct to grab anything that looks like a cord? But I do want them to be comfortable with the sounds of the TV, vacuum, heater, stereo, people opening and closing doors, and so on, so after pottying outdoors, that’s the time to have supervised and nearly individualized indoor exploration time. (It’s a wonder I am getting anything done!)
Mama Hound still sleeps with the babies and plays with them a bit outside, but she really, really appreciates getting to come in the house and lay about with my other adult dogs in the house while I work. I remember how great it felt when my toddler son started kindergarten and I could work unencumbered for much of the day – ahhhh. That’s how she seems to feel. She will be headed soon to the Western coordinator of the American Black & Tan Coonhound Rescue – the group that is sponsoring the whole family’s rescue, to be spayed and start treatment for her heartworm infection. At least now she’s put on some weight and is more familiar with people and loves attention and affection. I’m not sure she had any love before this group pulled her from the shelter that took her in as a stray, skinny, pregnant, and heartworm-positive. She was so shut down with stress that she seemed almost comatose. Now she’s developing some darling play behaviors and frisking about with the pups and even with my two-year old dog Woody.
If anyone is interested in a calm, sweet, low-maintenance mama dog, or one of these darling pups, check out the AB&TC website. The pups will appear on the site soon, in the “available puppies” in the Southwest region. The mom won’t be available until after her spay and heartworm treatment (unless, by some miracle, someone wants to foster-to-adopt her through that period).
Whole Dog Journal has written a lot in the past about the usefulness of having a comfortable crate which your dog calls home. Crates are a convenient way to keep your dog out of harm’s way, out of your way, and away from guests when necessary. A crate is regarded as the safest way to transport dogs in the car, and if you ever fly with your dog, you’re going to need a crate for that too.
Crate training your dog comes with ample benefits for the both of you, so let’s review the several varieties of dog crates on the market, and what each crate is best suited for!
5 Types of Dog Crates:
1. Plastic Portable Dog Carriers
Plastic dog crates like these are generally used for small to medium-sized dogs. They are typically made entirely of thick plastic, have a front-facing swinging door and a carrying handle on the top. This type of crate is helpful for dogs who are on the go with their owners. Portable and sturdy, these crates are good for car and plane travel. If you’re flying with your dog and you know he’ll need to go in the cargo hold, a strong-walled crate like this will offer the most protection.
Dreamstime_m_80554230
2. Folding Wire Dog Crates
Here is the ubiquitous dog kennel – the wire crate. Most are folding, so you can easily move them around the house or into the car. The upsides of these crates are that they come in all sizes, your dog has unrestricted view of the house from within, and they are easily cleaned. Putting a cushion or thick blanket down on the metal bottom tray makes it comfortable for your dog. A common issue with these crates is often they are too big for the dogs that use them. A roomy crate might just be big enough for your dog to eliminate on one end and curl up for bed on the other, foiling your housetraining initiatives.
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3. Soft-Sided Dog Crates
This type of dog kennel isn’t for every dog. They are usually made of canvas or nylon, and are therefore more destructible than wire or plastic crates. Dogs who like to scratch or chew at their confines are not good candidates for a soft crate; in general, WDJ doesn’t recommend soft crates for initial crate training. For already crate-trained or exceptionally calm dogs, a soft kennel is a comfortable, lightweight travel option for dogs of any size. WDJ reviewed the best soft-sided dog crates on the market– check it out to see if they’re right for your dog.
Dreamstime_m_35420340
4. Heavy-Duty Dog Crates
Whole Dog Journal does not see an immediate purpose for a “heavy duty” dog kennel, unless of course you need to crate the Hulk. This type of crate is commonly marketed for giant breed dogs, dogs who destroy their crates, or for master kennel escape artists. If this is the only kind of crate you’ve found that is large enough for your enormous dog, fine. If you think a heavy-duty crate is the right solution for a dog with crate anxiety – a dog who relentlessly chews the crate and tries to escape, who can’t hunker down and relax in confinement no matter what – you need to take a few steps back. Remember: the point of a crate is not to be a prison, but a havenfor your dog. If you need maximum security just to keep your dog inside a crate, your dog is not reaping the training benefits a crate is supposed to provide. Instead, some negative behaviors like house soiling may even worsen as the dog’s stress compounds.
Amazon.com/BestPet Professional
5. Furniture Dog Crates (sometimes called Fashion Crates)
This kind of crate is exactly what it sounds like: a dog kennel that doubles as home furniture. The most typical example of this crate is in the form of an end table or credenza. WDJ does not recommend these crates for dog training. They are not portable or easily cleanable, but they are quite expensive. Yes, they look nice in the living room, but unless your dog is accustomed to sleeping in cabinets, we don’t recognize this type of dog kennel as an effective training tool.
Hayneedle.com/Boomer & George Trenton
Do Dogs Like Kennels? Why Should You Crate Train?
The age-old theory is that dogs, having evolved to be “den” animals who seek the security of small, enclosed spaces to sleep and hide, will avoid pooping or peeing inside the crate because that would defy an instinct to keep their den clean. Dogs find comfort in having a crate of their own – when they have a positive association with the crate, it becomes a place to retreat when the house environment gets overwhelming, or when they want to sleep unbothered by housemates. Naturally, dogs are motivated not to eliminate in their own space. For this reason, you can avoid accidents in the house overnight by crate training your dog.
Dog crates are NOT supposed to be used as punishment! Dragging the dog into his crate whenever he misbehaves will not only encourage your dog to consider the crate as a prison and explore ways to escape it, but will also ruin your dog’s chances of using the crate in its intended way: as a place to relax.
In summary, the best kind of crate to use to train your dog depends on your lifestyle and intentions. Do you need a dog crate that pops up and breaks down easily for relocation, or something sturdy for frequent car rides? Invest in a properly sized wire crate. Need a carrier for your small dog that he can feel extra safe in? The hard-sided plastic crates are your best bet.
WDJ contributor/freelance writer Barbara Dobbins sent me a text from the waiting room of a busy veterinary practice the other day:
“Sitting at the veterinary specialist and watching all the traditional cones go by. Why don’t they offer or even discuss alternatives? Sigh.”
Dobbins’ dissatisfaction is understandable: She most recently wrote a review of alternatives to the classic veterinary “cone” or Elizabethan collar (“Shameless Protection,” WDJ July 2017). Dobbins tested eight different products that can be used to protect a dog’s wound or surgical site, each of which offered greater comfort, vision, and less amplification of sound than what a dog typically experiences with a conventional, vet-issued “cone.”
The classic cone offered at most veterinary practices is made of very heavy, stiff , opaque plastic. Most dogs suffer more from the cones than whatever wound they have that is being protected. They are often bigger than they have to be to protect the dog’s wound site, and because the plastic is opaque, the wearer often bashes into doorways and table legs, trying to move around his house. Many dogs, and especially senior dogs, seem to find the whole experience so disheartening that they often reuse to try to eat or drink or even walk around with the cones on.
Many pet supply stores carry lighter-weight, translucent cones, which often come with a strip of fabric or vinyl that lines the inner edge of the collar, making it less liable to dig into the dog’s neck uncomfortably. If your dog has to wear an Elizabethan collar for a short period, for example, following a surgery or wound repair, we’d recommend picking up one of these inexpensive alternatives.
If your dog suffers from a condition that calls for longer-term use of a protective cone, we’d strongly recommend looking into one of the other alternatives Dobbins describes in her review.
After seeing the alternatives, we’d never bring our dog home from a vet’s office with one of those classic, unwieldy, uncomfortable (and often over-priced) cones again.
Ack! As I type these words, it’s the day before Thanksgiving, and I have less than an hour to write this. I had a different topic in mind for this week’s blog post, but it’s going to take more time to write it, and I’ve run out of time.
I overslept this morning. My husband and I were up too late, tidying up the house, getting ready to have houseguests for the long Thanksgiving weekend. Ordinarily, I would put them up at the house where I have my office, two blocks away, where they would probably be more comfortable, with their own bathroom, but the comfort I’m working to preserve is that of – you guessed it – dogs!
At my office/house, I already have a delicate dog situation. I’m fostering a mama hound and her seven puppies, and I have a tenant there who has a female dog, MJ, who is my dog Woody’s crush and very good playmate, but MJ and Mama Hound don’t much care for each other, and orchestrating their movements takes a bit of care.
My guests for the weekend are my husband’s brother and his wife, and their Boxer Rosie, and they are bringing a foster Boxer, too. Rosie is another female with a strong personality and opinions about things, and having her stay at the house with the other two females – not a good idea. So they can stay at our house, instead, where all we will have to juggle are the cats (who can generally take care of themselves, even if it means spending a certain amount of time on the roof) and the chickens, who will have to suffer the indignity of being locked in their pen for the weekend, so they don’t end up as Boxer food.
I might leave Woody at my office house overnights with my tenant and MJ. They get along splendidly, and it might be less bananas. The foster Boxer is reportedly an adolescent who doesn’t know much. If he likes to play, he and Woody might be too much to contain in a small house.
Who won’t be here to play this year: My son’s dog, Cole! He and my son are having the holiday with my son’s dad and that part of his family. They will be missed, especially on the hikes.
Once everyone is settled, I’m looking forward to glorious hikes with all the dogs (well, not Mama or the pups, but all the puppy-free grownup dogs); my in-laws are great hikers, and we always have epic dog hikes when they come. I’m so looking forward to it! Especially because my sister, the chef, is cooking for all of us! We will need to hike for four days to work off one dinner!
All the dogs will be settled into safe zones before we go to my sister’s house; we won’t bring any dogs there, not even my dogs, who have been there many times and who get along with her dogs, because there will just be too many people and dogs in one spot. My sister and her husband have four little dogs; they don’t take up much physical space, but they take up a lot of the sound space, if you get my drift. Ruff! They are darling, but I don’t want to add to the chaos.
Well, maybe just dignified Otto can come. He doesn’t add to chaos, ever. He’s the anti-chaos dog.
I hope you all have a nice holiday with your dogs. Just don’t skip an extra long walk with your dog or dogs sometime afterward, Friday, the weekend, or both. In my view, it’s the part of the holiday I’m more thankful for.
I’m fostering a (heartworm-positive) mama hound and her seven puppies for one of my favorite breed rescues, the American Black and Tan Coonhound Rescue. It’s my first foray back into puppy-fostering since the epic Great Dane mama and litter of 11 fostering experience, which wiped me out in terms of time, energy, and even spare cash for a while. After that litter, which came to me underweight and sickly, and had to undergo treatment for coccidia and giardia, I took a break from fostering puppy litters for a while.
But I couldn’t resist this bunch: They came from an open-admission shelter north of me by 90 miles or so, and were “pulled” by the ABTCR, whose Western-U.S. coordinator is about 90 miles south of me . . . I was in the middle, see? I had to help!
The mom had come into the shelter in early October, super skinny and yet obviously pregnant, with grossly long nails – and a heartworm infection. She had her pups in the shelter on October 17, and the shelter put out a call for help. The ABCTR responded, and then asked its volunteers for assistance (which is where I stepped up). The group will see to it that Mama is treated for her heartworm infection once the pups are weaned, and get all the pups vaccinated, microchipped, neutered, and adopted – all in good time.
In the meantime, I get to play with the puppies (which is fun) and the mom (less fun). Mama isn’t house-trained – I’m not sure she’s ever been in a house, judging from her worry-free propensity for jumping up on the kitchen counters when I’m preparing food. She also guards her food, even from her own babies, which is maybe understandable given her extreme thinness. I hope as she gets comfortable and in good weight, she’ll relax a bit.
The mom and the puppies were delivered to me by a shelter volunteer when the pups were 10 days old; that makes them the youngest puppies I’ve fostered. Almost all the rest of the puppies I’ve ever fostered were about three weeks old when I got them, and what an incredible difference there is between 10 days and 21 days! These guys were sort of grub-like – fat, gooey pups, eyes mostly closed, only able to sort of wobble and roll toward mom, spending all their time either eating or sleeping.
At two weeks, worried that a couple of the pups weren’t getting enough to eat, I offered them formula. I didn’t know that at that age, they didn’t yet have an instinct or ability to lap at liquids offered to them; all they could do was suck. I gave the littlest ones some formula in a puppy bottle (you know, a baby bottle for puppies), and kept trying. The puppies were all wild when offered the formula; they’d get frantic and start lunging toward it. But they had absolutely no ability to lap it up, until one day, at about three weeks old, they did. No more bottles needed.
Other developments happen daily, like magic. Their eyes opened, and daily, it’s clear they could see more and farther. Their vocalizations went from simple whimpering when hungry or cold, to include yelps when mom steps on them, and then playful growls at each other, and now, barks of alarm or excitement. They used to poop and pee anywhere and everywhere; then, one day, they started exiting the warm crate where their bed is and going out in the kennel (bedded with wood shavings) to poop and (most of the time) to pee.
Ten days ago, humans were just enormous things they didn’t really comprehend; now, at 30 days old, when they see people, they come running and tumbling toward the humans, eager to be petted and picked up and cuddled. It happened overnight, I swear.
I was dismayed to see that they have already developed the ability to remember scary things. The other day, I was removing some damp bedding from the crate (still a few bed-wetters among them) as the mom was eating her food outside the pen, and the pups were eating their (supplemental) food inside the pen. I carried the laundry about 10 feet away to the laundry room, took some things out of the dryer and folded them, added more to a load in the washer, and stepped out of the room just in time to see that the mom had finished her food, and was finishing theirs . . . and boom! She dramatically barked and snapped at one of the puppies who was still trying to eat its food. All the puppies yipped and ran into the crate; the one who got snapped at was so shaken, she missed the door of the crate and instead stood, trembling and cringing and trying to disappear in the corner of the pen. Although the pups still all dive toward their mom when she lays down with them for nursing, I swear they are all wary now when she walks among them in the pen.
Watching this incredibly fast development makes me realize how much, for better or worse, our puppies experience long before we usually get our hands on them. Were they raised in a scary, unpredictable place, subject to loud, clashing noises and other frightening stimuli? Was the environment stripped down and devoid of different textures, substrates, heights, and toys to experience, and people and other animals to see? Did they have a nice mom, or a scary one, or only minimal contact with their mother? It’s fascinating to ponder.
We can only do what we can do, and of course I’ll try to give this bunch of darling puppies the best possible experiences for the next couple of months – and stay more alert to protecting them from Mama when she’s eating. Sheesh.
Group training classes are a mixed bag of pros and cons. And I say this as someone who has made a fair amount of my annual income by teaching group training classes. I also attend group classes with my own dog.
The most obvious “pro” is the cost. In a group training situation, the economic cost is leveraged, allowing each student to pay less per hour compared to private instruction. It’s next to impossible to maintain a training facility without offering some group classes.
“The trade-off is that both humans and dogs are trying to learn new information in the worst possible situation,” says Hannah Branigan of Wonderpups dog training in Raleigh, North Carolina, and host of the popular training podcast, “Drinking From the Toilet.” “We always tell people we want them to train the dog in a low-distraction environment, and then, look how we teach them to do that!”
By design, the “ideal candidate” for a positive-reinforcement group manners class is the generally happy-go-lucky, emotionally stable, food-oriented dog whose worse transgression is maybe a minor lack of impulse control, simply because he hasn’t yet been taught how to do better – that’s why he’s there.
But in the real world, owners with dogs representing a wide range of temperaments and behavioral challenges find their way to group classes looking for help. Some dogs are fearful and hide under the chair. Some are fearful and reactive. Some are frustrated-greeter types and vocalize their frustration, loudly and persistently.
Making Group Class Work for Your Dog
Most of the time, each of these types of dogs can be successfully accommodated in a group class, but doing so requires careful management on the part of the instructor, to adjust the class environment and tailor individual exercises accordingly. For the owner, it means letting go of expectations and learning how to recognize the small victories for her own dog, even when those victories don’t look anything like what’s happening with other dog-and-handler teams.
Skilled instructors will be well-equipped to support these teams in ways that decrease distress and make it easier for all the dogs in class to succeed. Increasing distance from whatever is causing a fearful dog to react (whether it’s the unknown dogs or unknown people), and/or implementing visual barriers are two great strategies that help create an environment where an anxious dog can begin to relax.
Working Alone in a Group Setting
When people enroll in a basic obedience or “manners” class, they usually expect to work on skills: sit, down, stay, come-when-called, etc. But if their dog is challenged by the environment or concerned about or overexcited by some facet of his surroundings, that must be dealt with first.
It can be frustrating for the owner who really wants to start teaching those basic skills to her dog to have to delay that process for weeks – in class, at least. But consider that we, too, would find it difficult to concentrate on, say, learning a foreign language if we were also worried about reports of an escaped axe-murderer in our neighborhood, or while gushing with excitement over meeting our favorite celebrity crush. Before we were able to start conjugating verbs, we’d need time to feel safe, or for our head to come down from the clouds. We’d want our instructor to be patient and give us time, and/or help us recalibrate our emotions. Our dogs are the same!
Realistically, this might mean shifting your focus from basic skills, such a “sit” or “down,” to heavily reinforcing quiet behavior in your reactive dog via a rapid-fire string of high-value treats, or calmly rewarding the bolder moves of your fearful dog under your chair. When you’ve come to class expecting to work on “sit,” “down,” and “come,” it can be difficult to suddenly change your priorities, even when doing so is in the best interest of the dog. This is especially true when it seems like, compared to students working on skills, you aren’t “doing anything.”
In my experience, this often leads to owners trying even harder to get their dogs to engage in whatever skills exercise is taking place in class, often reaching for “bigger and better treats” in hopes of sustaining their dog’s attention long enough to lure him into position. Here’s the problem with that:
While it’s true that successful food-based dog training requires using food that’s of significant value to the learner, constantly trying to “up the ante” often means we’re asking the dog to do something he’s not yet able to handle. When the dog is struggling to “sit” because he’s feeling unsafe in the environment, or can’t “lie down” because he’s too over-stimulated by the other dogs, improving his emotional state is more important than squeaking out a half-hearted “sit” or “down” for the sake of keeping up with the rest of the class. Listen to your dog – he will tell you what he needs the most in the moment. You’re in class to help your dog, not to keep up with the Joneses. Once your dog’s emotional state improves, the basic skills behaviors will come.
Trying to Keep Up in Class
Trying too hard to “keep up” can actually cause more harm than good.
“My concern is, if we’re leading dogs around with food, we might accidentally lead them outside of their comfort zone,” says Branigan. Just because a dog is eating, she says, doesn’t mean he’s comfortable, and it’s easy to accidentally lead a dog beyond where he’d choose to go if not for the cookie in front of his nose.
The danger of this inadvertent over-facing is that the dog may be suddenly pushed over his personal coping threshold; he may become reactive, overly excited, or shut down completely, depending on his unique emotional and behavioral challenges. When training, it’s always better to set dogs up for success via a series of baby steps, i.e., to systematically teach them how to swim before letting them fall (or throwing them) into the pool!
“Getting a dog through a training class with a piece of hot dog on his nose does little to help solidify the skills he’ll need at home when, say, a baby is on the way,” adds Branigan. “We’re increasing his ability to follow food in a specific context, but that doesn’t necessarily carry over into real-life situations. Be careful not to mistake a dog’s ability to perform correctly in the presence of food with a solid understanding of the behavior.” (For more on this, see “Fluency and Generalization in Dog Training“.)
To be fair, it’s hard to be in a group situation and watch other teams appear to have more success while your dog sits cautiously under the chair, or while you concentrate on rewarding an absence of barking as other teams mingle about.
“It feels horrible!” says Branigan, “so people feel like they have to do something. Most of us have that bias toward action. We say, ‘This is uncomfortable and embarrassing; I need to do something to change this.’ But, in our desperate attempt to feel better, we put our long-term training goals at risk by potentially over-facing our dogs or tricking ourselves into believing our dog is learning an obedience skill when he’s really just half-heartedly following food.”
What to Expect from Group Dog Training Instruction
As a trainer, I know it’s likely that the “shy” puppy sitting under the chair will come around if given the opportunity to learn he is safe. I also know that the “reactive” dog is capable of learning how not reacting in the presence of his triggers will “pay” really well, especially when we pair well-timed reinforcement with a little environmental support, such as increased distance and visual barriers.
This can be harder for pet owners to understand, especially if it’s their first dog, or their first “challenging” dog. Branigan says it’s helpful for trainers to let clients know what to expect ahead of time, before they’re in the heat of the moment and potentially feeling embarrassed or frustrated.
“It’s ideal if clients head into the class situation knowing there’s a chance their dog won’t be able to focus and take food, or there’s a chance he might sit under the chair, but also knowing the trainer has seen that before. If they have been prepared and understand that the trainer knows what’s going on, and she has contingency plans for their type of dog already built into the class, it helps take the emotion out of it, and helps people make better choices while training,” Branigan says.
Be realistic about what might happen. If your dog excitedly barks when he sees other dogs on a walk, there’s a good chance he’s going to bark when he sees six other dogs in a crowded classroom. If your dog is shy when meeting new people, suddenly finding himself in a room full of strangers might be overwhelming. Even if he’s a happy-go-lucky hound, sometimes dogs surprise – and even embarrass us – in a group setting. Remember, it’s all okay! That’s why you’re there – to learn how to best help your dog!
No One in Class is Judging You
As a trainer, I know that all of these types of dogs are more than capable of learning how to sit, lie down, stay, and come-when-called if we present the lessons in a less-challenging environment. If your dog’s biggest challenge is coping with the group environment, with the help of the instructor, use class time to teach your dog how to feel better about being in a group. That victory is just as great – if not greater – than a sit, down, or stay for a dog who doesn’t struggle with the environment.
You can also use the time to focus on your handler skills using an imaginary dog as your dog quietly enjoys a food-stuffed Kong toy while safely tucked behind a visual barrier. Often, this is much easier than trying to refine your handling skills while simultaneously wrangling a reactive dog! All this handling practice more than pays off when it comes time to practice at home, where your dog is most comfortable and will likely be able to succeed in learning his lessons in the absence of all the class distractions.
Important in Sport-Dog Classes, Too!
While this article primarily focuses on traditional “manners” classes, the same considerations apply when participating in a sport-dog class, such as agility, rally, flyball, or competition obedience. We asked several dog-sport enthusiasts to share how they make group classes work for them:
“When I was taking my dog to agility class, something scary (in his mind) happened one day, and he couldn’t emotionally handle an entire class session anymore. We started participating in just half of the class, and spent the rest of the time playing fun games and working on desensitizing him to scary noises. It worked really well. It was great of the instructor to suggest this, rather than having to drop the class.”
– Beth O., California
“I did a novice obedience ring-readiness class with my Whippet, who, at the time, basically knew sit, down, and loose-leash walking. I told the instructor ahead of time that my main goal was to get her comfortable working around distractions. While other students worked on traditional competition heeling patterns, we did the same pattern, but with loose-leash walking. The class was great for helping her become comfortable at the training club and around other dogs, and we picked up a few obedience tips at the same time.”
– Wendy M., Florida
“My dog struggles with focus around distractions. He wants to look at and sniff everything around him. We’ve taken multiple group classes where we sit in the back and I reward every time he offers a moment of focus. Sometimes we have really good days. On those days, we participate in what the group is doing. Other days it’s too hard for him to focus on what I’m asking him to do, so we quietly concentrate on our focus games instead.”
– Asha M., Delaware
“My dog is shy around people, and we’re in a group rally class. There are often several people up working at once. The instructors are mindful of where people are situated, and they’re also fine with me doing whatever my dog is comfortable with that day. I enjoy being able to see how other students perform the signs, and I pick up training tips I can use when we practice at home.”
– Rachel O., Hampshire, U.K.
There are plenty of ways to modify participation in a group class so that it works better for your dog. Just be sure to communicate with the instructor about your needs, and make sure your alternative plans don’t negatively impact other working teams.
Dog Training is a Journey, Not A Race
Sometimes, it really is a better choice to withdraw from the group class in favor of working privately with the instructor in a less-distracting environment, or to attend the class without the dog to focus on your handling skills without over-facing your dog. Should this happen, it’s important to not feel like your dog “flunked out” of school!
What matters most is finding ways to support your dog as you work toward your long-term training goals, not pushing yourselves to fit in or keep up with a group. Not every training situation is right for every dog at every point of his training journey – and that’s okay. What’s important is finding what works best for you and your dog as a team.
TRAINING CLASS TROUBLES: OVERVIEW
1. Don’t feel pressured to “keep up” with the group. Listen to your dog. He will tell you what he needs most in the moment. Honoring this will support your long-term training goals.
2. Recognize and celebrate your successes!
3. Be realistic about your dog’s needs. Some dogs benefit more from private or semi-private lessons, depending on their needs.
Stephanie Colman is a writer and dog trainer in Southern California.
We’ve got not one, but two articles in this issue that are likely to ruffle some feathers. Both take aim at collars that cause the dogs who wear them to feel pain.
The first is an article by WDJ‘s Training Editor, professional trainer Pat Miller. She offers descriptions of all of the collar types that are available to dog owners for their dogs, and makes a case for those that function without causing discomfort or anxiety. This story is followed by an article by another professional trainer, Lauri Bowen-Vaccare, who describes the many reasons why she and so many other animal-behavior experts strongly oppose the use of electric shock collars as a method of containing dogs without a fence.
There are many owners who use choke chains, pinch collars, and shock collars successfully and without causing behavioral adverse side effects in their dogs. In the hands of owners with a good understanding of training and above-average behavior-observation skills, physical coordination, and timing, choke chains and pinch collars can be used to train many dogs to walk politely on leash with a minimum of pain.
The problem is, many dog owners have little understanding of animal behavior or training, poor animal behavior-observation skills, and bad timing. When you put a tool that works by causing pain in their hands, the result is often poor. Those who consistently hurt sensitive dogs or inadvertently punish dogs when they are doing the right thing are likely to produce dogs who resent and/or fear their handlers and/or walking on leash. Handlers who are uncomfortable with or not strong enough to hurt their dogs with these tools almost always end up with dogs who continue to display deplorable behavior on leash – those dogs who just pull right through the discomfort of a tight, choking or pinching collar – but who are also now stressed and anxious about this continual discomfort. Remember, these collars only work when they cause significant pain at the moment when the dog does something undesirable, such as pulling or lunging. If they don’t cause pain at the right time, or they cause pain all the time, they don’t work. In our opinion, and that of the majority of modern professional trainers, it’s far more effective and less potentially harmful to teach dog owners to use benign training tools, rather than ones that so frequently produce poor results and adverse side effects.
Similarly, there are dogs who can be contained without negative consequences by boundary perimeter systems that work by shocking dogs through their collars. But when these systems cause adverse behavioral side effects, this fallout is often dramatic. The list of potential negative consequences is long, and the real tragedy is that you won’t know if your dog might suffer those adverse effects until he has.
Do you use an underground electric shock fence to contain your dog? Are you considering having one installed? I hope reading this will change your mind.
More and more neighborhoods prohibit or limit the useof fencing, and as this occurs, the use of these non-visible electric shock perimeters has drastically increased. Manufacturers and retailers claim that these products are humane, effective means by which to safely confine dogs without disrupting the aesthetics of neighborhoods. Companies that sell these products generally target families who:
Live on larger pieces of land
Don’t want to lose their “view”
Are looking for a cheaper alternative to fencing,
Live in neighborhoods that prohibit fences or require expensive, decorative styles
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Modern dog behavior specialists generally agree that these products are neither safe nor humane for dogs or humans. Many dog training and behavior professionals have concluded that these products are the source of many fear-based behaviors, including aggression, and are only as effective as the pain and fear they inflict upon the dogs who live behind them.
How Do Electric Shock Collars Work?
A non-visible electric-shock perimeter consists of three components: a cable, a transmitter, and a pronged collar.
The cable is buried beneath the ground, surrounding the area in which the dog is to be confined, or from which he is prohibited to enter. Usually, the location of the buried cable is initially marked with a series of flags inserted into the ground in a line.
The transmitter, installed near the buried cable, broadcasts radio signals that travel the length of the cable.
The dog’s tightly fitted collar contains a small radio receiver, which receives signals from the transmitter when the dog (and receiver) get within a specified distance from the buried cable. The dog’s skin completes an electrical circuit, allowing the prongs, typically half an inch or more in length, to conduct electricity. When the dog steps near, over, or beyond the buried cable, he receives an electrical shock.
How Are Dogs Trained with Shock Collars?
Traditionally, a dog is allowed to wander into (or is actually encouraged to walk into) the boundary area – the “shock zone” – in order to receive an electric shock. The unit on the dog’s collar makes a beeping sound just before the dog enters the shock zone. This is repeated until the dog clearly indicates that he doesn’t want to enter the shock zone (and thus leave the yard), often by freezing, dropping to the ground, pacing and whining, etc. The dog may also yelp, panic, or try to bite.
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The handler increases the intensity of the shock if the dog does not exhibit overt avoidance-type behaviors. Eventually, the dog associates the sound of the beep with the physical sensation of the shock. The beep is now a signal that warns the dog of the impending shock, and most dogs learn to stop their forward movement when they hear the beep.
Instead of shocking the dog, some handlers walk the dog on leash near the perimeter flags, jerking him away when the beep sounds. After several repetitions, the dog may avoid the flags because, in his mind, flags and beeps cause annoying or painful leash-jerks. If the handler excludes the beep during training, she negates its function: to provide a warning to the dog.
Some handlers may use food or play to encourage their dog to remain in the safe areas of the yard. However, without some sort of painful stimuli being paired with the flags or the shock, at some point the dog is bound to attempt to leave the yard and will be shocked.
Some owners are instructed to simply put the collar on their dog and let him into the yard, allowing him to enter the “shock zone” on his own. Families are falsely assured that this will prevent the development of problematic behaviors because they’ve made no attempt to warn the dog about the shock; it occurs “naturally.”
Once the owner thinks that the dog has been successfully trained to stay in the unfenced yard, the flags are gradually removed, one or two flags at a time, until none remain.
Problems Related to Shock Collars
Adverse Side Effects
The following are signs that a dog is experiencing harmful side effects of a non-visible electric-shock perimeter:
• Pacing back and forth along property lines
• Cowering or running from neighbors or passersby
• Conversely, chasing cars, bicycles, animals, passersby, etc.
• Regression in potty training
• Hesitating or refusing to venture far from the house
• Refusing to leave the house
• Refusing to leave the yard for walks
• Excessive barking and jumping toward people or other pets, especially as they enter or exit the property
• Lying in the middle of the driveway or under or behind vehicles when people try to enter or exit the property
• Refusing to enter or play in certain parts of the yard
• Developing a fear of getting into the car or leaving the property inside of a vehicle
Dangerous behaviors may appear quickly, or may not appear for a year or more following initial training to the system:
• Aggressing toward neighbors, passersby, vehicles, etc.
• Aggressing toward people leaving by foot (examples: children getting on the school bus; owner walking to the mail box)
• Nipping or biting children, especially when playing outside
• Attacking other pets or people who are close to the dog, especially in the presence of passersby
• Attacking someone or another animal upon exiting the yard, or a person or animal who enters the yard
Many (if not most) of my training colleagues have been consulted by owners of dogs who developed serious behavior problems (such as the ones that appear in the list above) not long after a shock-collar boundary was introduced to their habitat. In many cases, the dogs’ owners were mystified. How and why did this happen?
Dogs are motivated by what works for them. They gravitate toward safety and avoid danger. Non-visible shock perimeters take advantage of the dog’s survival instinct: what lies beyond the yard harms (shocks) them, so the dogs try to protect themselves.
Many of the problematic behaviors related to these products are caused by the initial training process. Others are a result of the constant threat of being shocked, similar to a dog who, after being swatted with a newspaper several times, may become frightened of newspapers in general; if his just owner picks up or touches one the dog stops whatever he’s doing because newspapers are dangerous.
Some dogs are willing to suffer the shock to investigate something outside of their yards. Some may not even notice the shock because they are so highly aroused. These dogs may also develop unsafe behaviors. Boredom may be the culprit for dogs in the first category, and over time they may become desensitized to the shock. This does not mean that the dog has forgotten about the shock – the threat is still there, but the shock has become irrelevant in some situations.
Dogs in the second category tend to be high-energy, highly motivated working breeds, although any breed of any size or age may break through a non-visible shock perimeter, especially if highly aroused. When stress-hormones levels spike, the dog essentially “turns off” to everything else, and his body does not perceive a signal from the brain when he is shocked.
More Arguments Against Shock Perimeters
Here are other drawbacks associated with these systems:
Dogs often associate the shock with things that are present or nearby when he’s been shocked, like other animals, family members, or yard decorations, and can react badly to them as a result.
Collars can short out when they get wet, increasing the risk of malfunction and injury.
Collar malfunctions can lead to constant shocking or none at all.
Dogs may get stuck in the shock zone, unable to move, causing intensified, long-lasting pain, increasing the likelihood of injury and a bite to anyone who may reach to pull them out. Electronic devices on the same frequency (such as garage-door openers) can trigger random shocks.
Manufacturers instruct that collars be worn for no more than 10 to 12 hours at a time, but many product trainers advise that dogs wear them constantly, claiming this prevents the development of adverse effects.
Dogs may need regular retraining.
Dogs who leave the yard often don’t return, even if the collar is removed.
The signal only goes to a certain height, and some dogs learn to jump higher and/or will walk out if snow piles up.
Dogs may run from the yard in panic during storms, fireworks, when gunshots are heard, etc.
An owner may be liable for any injuries or damages, including medical and veterinary bills, counseling and behavior modification, or property damage associated with events resulting from the dog leaving the yard.
Homeowner Associations which prohibit fences and other outdoor confinement may be responsible for injuries, deaths or damages caused by a loose dog, and/or injury or death of a loose dog, particularly those which require dog owners to use these products.
Many breeders, shelters, and rescues will not place dogs in homes where these products are used.
Dogs in multi-dog families may feel the shock at different intensities.
Marketing professionals sell their clients’ products by invoking pleasant emotions about the product being presented to the consumer. To achieve this, they sometimes take liberties with facts by skewing them to achieve these ends, incorrectly redefining words like “fence” and “safe,” and taking advantage of individuals’ personal interpretations of the word “humane.”
For a better understanding of how marketing can lead well-meaning families astray, here are the actual definitions of some of the words being used to describe these products.
Fence: A barrier enclosing or bordering a field, yard, etc., usually made of posts and wire or wood, used to prevent entrance, to confine, or to mark a boundary; a means of protection.
Safe: Free from harm; not able or likely to be lost, taken away, or given away; not causing harm or injury, especially having a low incidence of adverse reactions and significant side effects when adequate instructions for use are given; having a low potential for harm under conditions of widespread availability.
Humane: Inflicting as little pain as possible, not cruel, acting in a manner that causes the least harm to people or animals.
Shock Collar Conclusions
Given the ample anecdotal and scientific evidence, it’s clear that electric-shock perimeters have detrimental effects that can cause moderate to severe behavioral and physiological problems in dogs, and also pose a threat to the communities in which they are used.
Frankly, if it’s not visible, it isn’t a fence. If something that is marketed as a protective product works by purposely inflicting pain and/or fear on the subject it’s supposed to protect, it’s neither safe nor humane.
What does this mean for dogs and their families? Simply put, a visible, physical barrier always trumps the absence of a physical barrier, especially when the product in question is so widely known to yield such an abundance of harmful side effects.
Lauri Bowen-Vaccare, owner of Believe In Dog, LLC, is a member of the Pet Professional Guild. Her specialties include reactivity, resource guarding, bringing outside dogs in, outside dogs, and transitioning to a new home.
When we live with and see our dogs every day, we don’t always notice the little changes that age brings, especially when we have more than one dog. All of a sudden our senior dog can appear old – and we hardly noticed the minute signs of aging along the way.
Maybe it’s that your dog no longer runs as far or as long in the park. Maybe she’s not as comfortable jumping up on the bed or into the car. Or maybe she doesn’t get up as often to follow you around as she used to. When our dogs lose the ability to function as well as they used to, it’s difficult to know what to do.
Many clients bring their aging dogs to me for private sessions because they have started having difficulty or reluctance with – or can no longer perform – normal life activities like climbing stairs, getting into the car, or walking on smooth flooring. These problems are often related to muscle atrophy in the hind end. Once the dogs get the all-clear from their veterinarian, we work on fitness exercises designed to rebuild hind-end strength; we increase the difficulty of the exercises slowly over time until more function returns.
It should be obvious that there are cases where a dog is suffering from more than age-related muscle atrophy. If you suspect this is the case, see your veterinarian for diagnosis. Also, watch for hearing and vision loss – these changes often occur and can affect behavior and function quite a bit. I can’t stress enough how important it is for your dog to get regular checkups by your veterinarian, especially as your dog ages.
We know that everything slows down with age. We also know that studies show exercise prolongs life, as does weight management, and that using and exercising the brain holds off mental deterioration. The similarities are great enough that it’s safe to extrapolate that what applies to senior humans applies to our senior dogs, too. So let’s keep our aging dogs’ minds and bodies more active through some simple fitness exercises! The dogs’ quality of life will improve with more physical and mental activities – and our quality of life may improve as well, if our dogs regain function and need less help with everyday activities.
Benefits of Fitness Exercises
Gentle and effective exercise prevents loss of independence and mobility in the aging dog. Fitness exercises keep our aging dogs functioning with confidence in everyday life and can improve:
Proprioception
This is the unconscious perception of movement and spatial orientation arising from stimuli within the body itself. Dogs lose proprioception as they age, but they can regain some with targeted fitness exercises.
Muscle Strength
Dogs lose muscle strength as they age, especially in the hind end. Dogs can regain muscle strength with fitness exercises, developing hind end, core, and stabilizing muscles as well as front-end (shoulder) muscles.
Gait
A dog’s gait can gradually decline due to weakening muscles, pain, compensatory movement that becomes habitual, and loss of proprioception that occurs with aging. Gaits can improve with specific fitness exercises.
Balance and Stability
Along with flexibility, balance and stability can be regained with fitness exercises.
Endurance
This often reduces with aging. Fitness and conditioning exercises improve physical stamina and/or endurance. Your senior can then manage longer hikes, sports activities, walking, and running.
Confidence
Confidence often blossoms as a result of a fitness program, probably because the dog is succeeding, getting stronger, and getting reinforced often for fitness-related behaviors. I think that the increase in body awareness also helps with confidence.
Attitude and Focus
Focus often improves from doing fitness exercises. Attitudes change for the better when the dog can learn to focus again and feels more confident.
Training Fitness Behaviors
When training fitness exercises, just as in training any behaviors, you can use shaping, luring, prompting, or capturing.
Shaping consists of reinforcing successive approximations along the way to the final goal behavior.
Luring consists of encouraging the dog to follow something he wants, usually food, then giving it to him as he performs the desired movement. Be sure to use a lure as few times as needed (i.e., two or three times) to get the dog to do the desired behavior, then “fade” (discontinue) the lure. The movement you made with the food or toy can become a hand signal or prompt.
Prompting involves encouraging or assisting with an aid that helps the dog understand the desired behavior.
Capturing is done by reinforcing the dog when she naturally performs the behavior on her own.
When you see movement toward, or achievement of, the actual goal behavior, “mark” that moment with an auditory or visual marker (such as the flash of a penlight or the click of a clicker) and then reward your dog to reinforce the behavior. I use verbal markers and clickers to mark behaviors. You can use a variety of reinforcers. I usually use very small, yummy treats.
The exercises in this article provide a good fitness foundation for any dog and can be challenging for aging dogs. Work slowly, take video, and work to sharpen your observation skills. It’s extremely important for you to see your dog’s physical alignment. His spine should be in a neutral position and his legs under his hips and shoulders during these exercises. I also think it’s important to look for the joy on our dog’s faces during these exercises.
Note: I never push a dog into position as a way to get behavior. I want dogs to learn to interact with us and any equipment willingly. I find that rushing or pushing dogs onto equipment is not beneficial for the dog. In fact, it can make the dog avoid the equipment in the future or could actually injure the dog. Dogs have more confidence when they get to choose to participate in training, including fitness exercises.
When your dog makes an error, you can cue something simple, such as a nose-to-hand touch, so your dog succeeds. Then reinforce him (feed him a treat) in a position that helps him be ready for the next cue.
Lori Stevens
Prerequisites for Exercising a Senior Dog
Before doing these exercises with your aging dog, get an all-clear to move ahead from your veterinarian. If your dog is overweight, work on weight management first. Also, it’s crucial your dog has properly trimmed nails.
Fitness Exercises for Older Dogs
The following exercises are a good foundation set to do for aging dogs. They use a variety of muscles that contribute to your dog’s core strength, flexibility, and balance.
Walk Over Short Poles
Lay some poles on the ground or on something that elevates them no more than two inches off the ground. The spacing should match the length of your dog from her withers to the base of tail or from the ground to the top of her withers. The poles can be round or flat but not more than two inches wide; broomsticks or lengths of one-inch PVC pipe are ideal. If the poles are on the ground and may easily roll, you can use painters tape to hold them in place. You could also place poles or a mop and broom over two-inch tall tuna cans and use painters tape to hold them in place.
Walk your dog slowly back and forth over the poles a couple of times. Look forward rather than at your dog.
You can place mats on the ground a few feet from the end of your row of poles so your dog has something to focus on as he walks or trots over them. Reinforce your dog on the mat for doing this exercise without hitting the poles.
If your dog hits the poles every time, change the height or the spacing of the poles. Determine if your dog improved or not. Also, try going slower to see if that makes a difference.
As long as your dog isn’t hopping or hitting the poles, you can continue with this exercise. Aim for 10 to 15 repetitions of crossing all of the poles in walking. You can also try trotting the dog over the poles as a separate exercise.
This exercise is good for the hip flexor muscles and for proprioception. I do this exercise with most aging dogs who enter my practice, including as a warm-up exercise.
The goal is for the dog to shift weight onto three legs while lifting her fourth leg. Ask for each paw to be lifted in turn (hopefully via a cue such as holding out your hand).
Important: Please do this on a non-slippery surface, and do not force your dog to lift her paw. If she doesn’t want to lift a paw, try again later. Continue with this exercise if your dog can easily give you a paw and therefore do a weight shift while standing.
If you can’t lift a paw or two, that’s fine; assume that it’s not easy or comfortable for your dog at this time. You can try again at another time, such as when she first gets up or after she’s been walking around a bit. It’s always good to check in with your veterinarian to make sure there isn’t a medical reason for her to want to keep her paws on the ground.
When you lift one of your dog’s front paws, support her elbow joint. When you lift a hind paw, support the stifle/knee joint. I demonstrate this in the following video.
Observe the weight shift. When the dog lifts her front right paw, her weight shifts to her left hind paw. Can you see this happening?
Leg lifts are important for balance and postural muscles. Doing leg lifts also ensures that both sides of the body work. You can take the leg lifts even further by lifting a leg and holding it up for progressively longer periods, building duration for an increase in balance and strength. Here’s how:
At this point, you’ve determined that your dog can lift each leg and stay in position and balance for a few seconds. Your dog should be standing as squarely as possible, with her front paws under her shoulders and her back paws under her hips. If your dog has balance issues, then have her in a well-fitting harness so you can support her with your hand, if needed.
Ask for a paw lift; I usually start with a front paw. You might have to help bring the paw up. Do not force this.
Hold the leg directly under the shoulder or hip, being sure to support the flexed joint (elbow or stifle/knee). Don’t bend the leg more than is needed to lift it.
Hold the paw up for five to 10 seconds. Build duration gradually by adding two to five seconds each week until you reach 20 seconds. Increase duration only when your dog is comfortable at the current duration.
Do a set of two to three holds per leg every other day.
Your observation skills are incredibly important as your dog progresses. Video yourself and your dog so you can really see what happens during this exercise.
Watch the videos of Cassie doing more advanced versions of this exercise.
In video #4, Cassie is doing leg lifts on foam padding on a massage table. Watch how she carefully adjusts her balance before lifting each leg. In video #5, Cassie is standing on rubbery inflated discs; she has to really work to maintain her balance while she lifts and holds each leg up. This is a highly advanced version of the lift-and-hold exercise. It’s hard work and should be rewarded accordingly!
Sphinx-Down and Sphinx-Down to Stand
This exercise will likely be different from the “down” you learned as an exercise in dog sports. If this is the case, use a different cue for this exercise so that the two are distinct and unique behaviors.
For this exercise, start with your dog standing. Make sure her paws are square under her shoulders and hips. Ideally, all four of her paws will remain fixed in place during this entire exercise. I often start teaching this exercise with the dog standing on a low platform, just a couple of inches high, that’s a few inches wider and a bit longer than the dog is when in a down. Having to keep all four paws on the platform helps the dog learn to keep all of her paws in place.
Prompt (or lure a couple of times) your dog to fold back and down to sphinx position. All four limbs will flex or bend as your dog moves into the down position.
Then ask her to stand. She should do this by pushing up while all four paws remain in position. You might need to lure or prompt this as well.
I recommend luring this exercise two to three times. Then remove the food and use your hand as a prompt for as long as you need to. Later, you can add a verbal cue.
These exercises are good for core strength, leg-hip joint flexibility, as well as strengthening the hind end.
Aim for five to 10 repetitions per set, if your dog can do this many. If your dog can do only two sphinx-downs with proper form, then ask her for just two.
You can add a couple of sphinx-downs per set every couple of weeks until you reach five to 10 per set.
You can do as many as two to three sets every other day. Do not ask your dog to do strengthening exercises every day.
A wonderful strengthening exercise for your dog’s hind end is a form of “perch work” or “two paws up.” Your dog will stand with her two front feet on a slightly elevated object or surface.
To start, you can use a two-inch-thick book that is a few inches wider than your dog’s stance (measuring to the outside of each paw) or you can use a two- to three-inch-high platform. If using a book, I suggest wrapping it in duct tape and then wrapping it in anti-slip material.
Put the book or other platform on the floor only after you’ve made a plan and filled your treat pouch. Be ready to mark the behavior you are looking for, then reinforce with a yummy, small, soft treat.
You can lure your dog up the first two to three times, but be sure to fade the lure quickly. Go from a treat in your hand to using your hand as a prompt. Once your dog puts both front paws on the platform, click and treat (mark and reinforce) a few times, ending the behavior with a click and treat off of the platform.
It should be relatively easy for your dog to step up on the book. If your dog cannot do this, be sure to bring this up with your veterinarian in case there is a medical issue preventing her from being able to do this.
Remember to watch for fatigue and to give your dog plenty of breaks. You are looking for joy on your dog’s face and excitement when you bring out the book or the platform. When you are ready for a break or to stop training, toss a treat for your dog (I say, “All done!”) and pick up the book or platform, to make it clear to your dog that the training session is over.
Once the behavior of stepping up with two paws on the book is solid, you can build duration. I suggest that you initially build duration to about 10 seconds per repetition up on the book and that you do three repetitions per set. If your dog is strong in the hind end, ask for a duration of 20 seconds.
After about seven to 10 days at 10 (or 20) seconds per repetition and three repetitions per set, you can then add another five seconds. Gradually build up to 30 seconds per repetition by adding five seconds every seven to 10 days. Keep your dog at 30 seconds per repetition for at least seven to 10 days before you increase the height of the platform.
Once your dog is completely comfortable keeping her front paws up for 30 seconds for seven to 10 days, you can increase the height of the platform to as much as four to six inches. But -this is important – when you raise the platform, you must reduce the duration that you ask your dog for. Return to 10 seconds, and then build to 30 seconds after another week or two.
As long as your dog finds this exercise to be easy and fun, you can continue to increase the height of the platform. Just make sure that each time you increase the height, you reduce the duration on the platform back to 10 seconds, and then build up to 30 seconds after another week or two. Stop adding height once your dog can work comfortably at your goal height. The typical height of a stair is eight inches; this is the goal height (with your veterinarian’s approval) for many medium and large dogs. For shorter and smaller dogs, or dogs with physical issues, the goal height might be two or four inches.
Tip: One thing you want to watch for is the widening of your dog’s hind legs. If your dog is standing wider in the hind legs when her front paws are on the platform, then the exercise is too difficult. Reduce the number of repetitions, the height, and/or the duration of the exercise so she can do it without widening her stance. It’s possible you moved through the steps too quickly.
Outside Fitness Work
While you are out walking, you can find all sorts of surfaces for your dog to put two front paws up on, such as curbs, large rocks, and logs. Putting her front feet up will put more weight on her hind end, which is what we are after. Just be sure to support your dog, if needed, on uneven surfaces. A well-fitting harness that doesn’t restrict movement is ideal for both walking your dog and supporting her during fitness exercises. (Of course, as the creator of the Balance Harness® by Blue-9 Pet Products, I recommend that one!)
Look for hills or inclines to walk or run up as many times as you can. Another beneficial exercise for outdoors is zigzagging down hills, which works one side of the body at a time. Sphinx-downs are also fun to practice in the park. Practicing spins in each direction can increase and maintain flexibility throughout the spine.
In warm weather, my dog Cassie walks or powers through shallow water and swims regularly in the local lakes. She also rides on a stand-up paddleboard, which is great for balance and stability muscle work for us both.
Good Form and Fun
The most important thing is that you and your dog enjoy these exercises and be safe doing them. Strengthening exercises should be done every other day, not daily.
I highly recommend finding a professional who can initially go through the exercises with you and your dog, to ensure your dog is in proper alignment and can safely do the exercises. Professionals who can help include Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioners or Therapists (CCRP or CCRT) and Certified Canine Fitness Trainers (CCFT). Regular practice, with good form, should help your dog enjoy herself and function better in her senior years.
Lori Stevens has certifications and expertise in behavior consulting, canine massage, canine fitness, and Tellington TTouch Training. She is the creator of the Balance Harness® (Blue-9 Pet Products), and has an established companion animal practice in Seattle, WA. The most recent of her DVDs is called “Gift of a Gray Muzzle: Active Care for Senior Dogs” and is co-presented with Kathy Sdao (Tawzer Dog Videos, 2017). Lori also teaches online classes for Fenzi Dog Sports Academy; her six-week course, “Helping Dogs Thrive: Aging Dogs,” which includes bodywork, fitness, and movement for aging dogs, begins on December 1, 2017.
While we discus collars in the December 2017 issue, let’s also take a moment to talk about collar grabs. I see a worrisome number of dogs who duck away when their human reaches for their collar. This is not only annoying for the human, it is also dangerous. Imagine what happens in an emergency, when the owner needs to quickly corral the dog to keep her out of danger, and the dog ducks away from the reaching hand and runs off.
If your dog has a positive association with being reached for, it could save her life. It’s easy enough to teach with most dogs and well worth the effort. All you need is a supply of tasty treats, and your dog, wearing a collar. Here’s how:
1. Move one hand toward your dog. Feed a treat from the other hand while your first hand stays in place. Remove both hands at the same time and hide them behind your back.
If your dog moved away when you did this or otherwise had a negative reaction (such as a nervous nose-lick, as seen in the photo), you moved your hand too close to her, or too quickly. Move your hand less and more slowly on the next trial.
2. Repeat many times, until, when you present your “reach” hand, your dog looks for the “treat” hand to appear. This “look” is called a conditioned emotional response, or CER.
3. When your dog consistently offers the desired CER at the distance of your original reach, reach a little farther next time. Keep working at the shorter reach distance until you consistently get the desired CER.
4. Gradually move your reaching hand closer and closer, getting the desired CER at each new reach distance, until you can touch, and then briefly grasp, your dog’s collar.
5. When she happily responds to you grasping her collar, ask other people to do the same exercise. Have the person start at Step 1, until your dog is happy about anyone reaching for her (in case she gets away from you and someone else tries to catch her).
I recently fostered a dog who first greeted me at the shelter that I sprung her from by jumping up on me. I spent the first two days with her almost exclusively working on preventing her from jumping. When I introduced her to a friend, my friend immediately held her arms out and greeted the dog’s enthusiastic jump up with a big hug, petting, and cooing
